U.S. patent application number 10/751576 was filed with the patent office on 2004-07-22 for method of incorporating an internet sales order with fundraising tally data.
Invention is credited to Barnum, Dennis, Phares, Sara.
Application Number | 20040143520 10/751576 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 32717944 |
Filed Date | 2004-07-22 |
United States Patent
Application |
20040143520 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Barnum, Dennis ; et
al. |
July 22, 2004 |
Method of incorporating an internet sales order with fundraising
tally data
Abstract
A fundraising sales method including the steps of receiving a
plurality of direct orders for at least one product from a brochure
sales presentation; receiving a plurality of internet orders for
one of the products or another product; and combining at least one
of the plurality of direct orders with at least one of the
plurality of internet orders dependent upon one of a plurality of
student identifiers.
Inventors: |
Barnum, Dennis; (Huntington,
IN) ; Phares, Sara; (Albion, IN) |
Correspondence
Address: |
Max W. Garwood
450 N. Jefferson Street
P.O. Box 30
Huntington
IN
46750
US
|
Family ID: |
32717944 |
Appl. No.: |
10/751576 |
Filed: |
January 5, 2004 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
60438097 |
Jan 6, 2003 |
|
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Current U.S.
Class: |
705/30 ;
705/14.14; 705/14.36; 705/14.39 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G06Q 30/0239 20130101;
G06Q 30/0236 20130101; G06Q 30/0212 20130101; G06Q 40/12 20131203;
G06Q 30/06 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
705/030 ;
705/014 |
International
Class: |
G06F 017/60 |
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A fundraising team sales method utilizing the internet,
comprising the steps of: entering a plurality of team member
identifiers into a data storage; associating said plurality of team
member identifiers to a plurality of products in said data storage;
accessing said data storage via the internet by a customer;
selecting one of said plurality of team member identifiers by said
customer; and committing to purchase at least one of said plurality
of products, thereby defining an internet purchased product.
2. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of combining
direct sales information with said internet purchased product.
3. The method of claim 2, further comprising the step of
calculating prizes won by at least one of said plurality of team
members.
4. The method of claim 2, further comprising the step of generating
sales tax records relative to at least one state.
5. The method of claim 2, further comprising the step of delivering
said internet purchased product directly to said customer and
direct sales product by way of at least one of said plurality of
team members.
6. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of entering a
plurality of email addresses corresponding to potential
customers.
7. The method of claim 6, wherein said entering step is completed
by at least one of said plurality of team members.
8. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of
calculating a total sale associated with said one of said plurality
of team member identifiers.
9. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of providing
a plurality of passwords to a plurality of team members, each of
said plurality of team members associated with a unique one of said
team member identifiers, each of said plurality of passwords
uniquely associated with a corresponding one of said plurality of
team members.
10. A fundraising sales method, comprising the steps of: receiving
a plurality of direct orders for at least one product from a
brochure sales presentation; receiving a plurality of internet
orders for one of said at least one product and an other product;
and combining at least one of said plurality of direct orders with
at least one of said plurality of internet orders dependent upon
one of a plurality of student identifiers.
11. The method of claim 10, further comprising the step of
calculating prizes won by at least one student.
12. The method of claim 10, further comprising the step of
generating sales tax records relative to at least one state.
13. The method of claim 10, further comprising the step of
delivering said internet purchased product directly to said
customer and direct sales product by way of at least one student
associated with a corresponding one of said student
identifiers.
14. The method of claim 10, further comprising the step of entering
a plurality of email addresses associated with potential
customers.
15. The method of claim 14, wherein said entering step is completed
by at least one student.
16. The method of claim 10, further comprising the step of
calculating a total sale associated with said one of said plurality
of student identifiers.
17. The method of claim 10, further comprising the step of
providing a plurality of passwords to a plurality of students, each
of said plurality of students associated with a unique one of said
student identifiers, each of said plurality of passwords uniquely
associated with a corresponding one of said plurality of student
identifiers.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This is a non-provisional patent application based upon U.S.
Provisional Patent application Serial No. 60/438,097 bearing the
title "Method of Incorporating an Internet Sales Order with Fund
Raising Tally Data" filed on Jan. 6, 2003.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] 1. Field of the Invention
[0003] The present invention relates to a method of combining
Internet sales data orders with direct sale orders and, more
particularly, to a method of obtaining a sales order on the
Internet and combining that with a direct fundraising sale for a
student's order, thereby enabling a single computation of prize
information for each student/salesperson.
[0004] 2. Description of the Related Art
[0005] Fundraising often takes place in schools that utilize their
students to sell items to raise money for the school for its
various projects. Often schools utilize fundraising drives to
purchase equipment not provided for in a budget, such as band
uniforms, playground equipment, enhanced office equipment, and for
travel expenses for a particular group. Raising funds is often done
on a personal level, where the student provides, to a potential
customer, a brochure having various products in it. The customer
reviews the brochure, makes selections, and enters an order on an
order blank. The student turns his or her order sheets in to a
teacher or group leader and the orders are tallied by the
fundraising distributor that has organized the sale for the school.
The student are grouped into teams, so the order sheets that are
provided to the distributor are likewise grouped into teams and the
data is entered into a computer program such as Ultra.TM. or
WinUltra.TM., which was designed and sold by QDP Corporation.
WinUltra.TM. is utilized probably by more fundraising distributors
than any other fundraising tallying software. WinUltra.TM. allows
for the organization of student information and organizes the sale
by producing team total information as well as calculating prize
levels for which each student salesperson and/or a team have
achieved. Further, WinUltra.TM. produces money collection envelopes
with information relevant to the sale for each student salesperson,
including the prizes won by the student participating in the sale.
Further, total information is available to allow teachers or
administrators to keep track of a student's sale in the event that
the sales amount is used to credit the student toward a personal
goal for use toward a benefit to the student, such as for
travel.
[0006] Internet sales are known in that a purchaser goes to a
particular website, selects a product, makes payment arrangements,
enters shipping information, the order is processed and product is
delivered by way of one of several carriers. Internet auctions and
direct sales have been utilized to not only produce revenue for the
distributor of the product, but such sales techniques for the
fundraising industry have been utilized to raise funds for groups
such as schools.
[0007] What is needed in the art is a method to coordinate Internet
sales and direct sales in the fundraising industry.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0008] The present invention provides a method of combining
Internet sales data with fundraising data of a direct sale.
[0009] The invention comprises, in one form thereof, a fundraising
sales method including the steps of receiving a plurality of direct
orders for at least one product from a brochure sales presentation;
receiving a plurality of internet orders for one of the products or
another product; and combining at; least one of the plurality of
direct orders with at least one of the plurality of internet orders
dependent upon one of a plurality of student identifiers.
[0010] The invention comprises, in another form thereof, a
fundraising team sales method utilizing the Internet including the
steps of entering plurality of team member identifiers into a data
storage; associating the plurality of team member identifiers to a
plurality of products in the data storage; accessing the data
storage by way of the Internet by a customer; selecting one of the
plurality of team member identifiers by the customer; and
committing to purchase at least one of the plurality of
products.
[0011] An advantage of the present invention is that an Internet
sale can be combined with a direct sale by a salesperson and awards
can be determined from the combination of the two sales types.
[0012] Another advantage is that total funds raised by each student
are calculated dependent upon the total order.
[0013] Yet another advantage is that the student enters potential
customer email addresses, to which fundraising solicitations are
conveyed.
[0014] Still yet another advantage of the present invention is that
relatives of a student that are not in the same locale may
participate in the fundraising event by way of the internet.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0015] The above-mentioned and other features and advantages of
this invention, and the manner of attaining them, will become more
apparent and the invention will be better understood by reference
to the following description of embodiments of the invention taken
in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:
[0016] FIG. 1 is a block diagram of the steps that a distributor
takes, utilizing the method of the present invention;
[0017] FIG. 2 is another embodiment of the method of the present
invention utilized by the distributor, the student, and the
customer; and
[0018] FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating the method of the
present invention that combines information.
[0019] Corresponding reference characters indicate corresponding
parts throughout the several views. The exemplifications set out
herein illustrate preferred embodiments of the invention, and such
exemplifications are not to be construed as limiting the scope of
the invention in any manner.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PRESENT INVENTION
[0020] Now, referring to the drawings, and more particularly to
FIG. 1, there is shown an embodiment of the present invention. In
product fundraising, products are made available to individuals for
purchase with a portion of the profits for the support of a group,
often a nonprofit organization. In FIG. 1, method 100 includes
associating a school with a product line at step 102. Although the
term "school" is utilized throughout, any group is equally
applicable. The words "school" and "student" are utilized because
often fundraising is conducted in the school environment whether
associated with the school itself or a group affiliated with the
school. Further, each student can be considered a team member of a
group, a class or a classroom. As such, other groups and
individuals other than students can equally utilize the method of
the present invention.
[0021] In fundraising, a distributor is associated with a supplier
who provides product to the distributor. The distributor contacts
the school and arranges for a fundraising drive. The distributor
associates within a database the school name or identifier with a
particular set of products that has been selected by the school to
sell in their fundraiser. The product line may include such items
as candies, cookies, small items such as ink pens, money clips,
candles, and various small decorating items. The product line that
is selected can be provided in brochure format to each student for
direct sales to relatives, friends, and parental coworkers. The
same product line or a separate product line associated with the
brochure can be offered by way of the Internet in the present
invention.
[0022] In method 100, the distributor enters team names at step
104, which may be associated with the student's class, homeroom, or
extracurricular group. The idea of having teams is so that
different teams may be in competition in order to enhance the total
fundraising drive.
[0023] At step 106, the distributor enters the student names that
are associated with each team name. This helps to establish the
database necessary for later product selection by a customer in
order to give a student credit for the sale.
[0024] At step 108, method 100 associates a unique identifier with
each student name that has been entered at step 106.
[0025] At step 110, customers are directed to a website to select
product, giving credit to an individual student for the sale
thereof. The customer selects the school at step 112, then selects
a student that is to get the credit at step 114, then selects
product at step 116 from the product line selected at step 102.
[0026] At step 118, the customer pays for the product and provides
delivery information, such as an address, so that a common carrier
can deliver the product.
[0027] This method advantageously allows a student in one area of
the country to contact relatives living in another area of the
country to participate in the fundraiser. This is particularly
necessary in our mobile society in which students may be some
distance from grandparents and other relatives, and even
non-custodial parents.
[0028] Now, additionally referring to FIG. 2, there is shown
another embodiment of a portion of the present invention in the
form of method 200. Method 200 includes step 202, where a
distributor associates a school group with a product line.
[0029] At step 204, the distributor provides the school with
passwords to be distributed to students wherein students then
access an Internet website and utilize the password, identifying
the student to the school and a selected team, wherein the student
accesses and enters information at step 206. Information entered
includes information about the student for identification purposes
and limits any privacy information being gathered, so that only the
necessary information is gathered to facilitate the fundraising
drive. Information that the student would enter would include the
e-mail addresses of individuals that the student would want to be
contacted relative to the sale.
[0030] At step 208, e-mails are sent to individuals, identifying
that a student of the school has requested their participation in a
fundraising drive. These e-mails are sent based upon the data
entered by the student at step 206. The e-mails include a link to
the website, which directs the customer directly to the product
line, which is selected at step 210. The customer selects product
from the product line, the credit for the sale being assigned to
the student.
[0031] At step 212, the customer pays for product, providing
delivery information and payment arrangements such as credit card
information for the payment and then delivery of the selected
products.
[0032] Now, additionally referring to FIG. 3, there is shown method
300, which embodies part of the present invention. Method 300
continues from a preceding method, such as method 100 or 200.
Information in the form of completed brochures that reflect the
sales handled directly by the student, normally in a face-to-face
situation, is provided to the distributor in the form of filled-out
paper records. These records are entered into a computer database
at step 302.
[0033] At step 304, method 300 combines the direct sales entered at
step 302 with Internet sales that have been attributed to each
student as a result of a previous method such as method 100 or 200.
The students' unique identifiers correlate this information in
order to credit each student with the sales generated directly and
by way of the Internet. The identifiers may be an alphanumeric
code, a portion of the student's name or a combination thereof.
[0034] At step 306, the total sale by student is calculated in the
form of the number of products as well as the dollar value. The
product count, as well as the total sale, may be utilized to
determine the prize that each student is capable of selecting.
Additionally, prize weights by product are utilized to determine
the prize categories that are available to each student. For
example, one item that sells for a higher amount than another item
may be associated with a prize value of twice that of the first
item. This allows credit to the student with a higher prize value
if the higher-valued products are sold.
[0035] At step 308, method 300 produces sales tax records that are
necessary in some states for direct sales of certain types of
product. Additionally, sales tax liabilities for Internet sales are
accounted for in order for the school and distributor to
appropriately comply with sales tax requirements. For example if
in-state sales are made, whether directly or by way of the
Internet, a different set of sales tax laws may apply than to an
out of state sale.
[0036] At step 310, student prizes are calculated dependent upon
the combined direct and Internet sales at step 304.
[0037] At step 312, product that has been identified on brochures
and by Internet purchase is delivered and money is collected. Since
a portion of the money is collected directly--for example, by an
Internet sale involving a credit card--and some money is to be
collected upon delivery by the student, the present invention
accounts for the incremental collection of the funds, allowing the
school to have oversight in the collection of funds for the sale of
the product.
[0038] At step 314, at the end of the fundraising drive, prizes are
delivered to students dependent upon the calculated student prizes,
which is further dependent upon the combination of the direct sales
and Internet sales per student at step 304.
[0039] Although the term "prizes" has been utilized in the
foregoing, the fundraising drive may not have utilized prizes but
rather may have associated earnings to each student to credit the
student toward a class trip or similar benefit.
[0040] While this invention has been described with respect to
preferred embodiments, the present invention can be further
modified within the spirit and scope of this disclosure. This
application is therefore intended to cover any variations, uses, or
adaptations of the invention using its general principles. Further,
this application is intended to cover such departures from the
present disclosure as come within known or customary practice in
the art to which this invention pertains and which fall within the
limits of the appended claims.
* * * * *